Roper said the brothers were apparently arguing over money one owed the other.

“It’s really a tragedy that we have two brothers, arguing over money, one brother shoots the other and then commits suicide right there in front of the mother,” Roper said at the scene Thursday. “The mother now has to deal with both sons being dead. It’s a tragedy for the family and it’s a tragedy for our community.”

The police chief said it was “absolutely mind-boggling how cheap life has become,” even within a family.

“When it’s all over, both are lying there, side by side, dead in the front yard,” Roper said. “That’s not a police issue. That’s one that’s bigger than the police department. That’s a community issue and one that we won't solve just relying on the police department alone.”